Berry Union: Closed borders may hurt berry harvest in Russia

MOSCOW, Apr 8 (PRIME) -- The Union of Berry Producers of Russia has asked the Agriculture Ministry to organize entry of seasonal workers to the country suspended due to the coronavirus, or there will be no one to harvest berries, as seen by PRIME on Wednesday in a letter the union sent to the government.

“Due to the restrictions on entry to Russia of other states’ citizens introduced due to expansion of the COVID-19 coronavirus, the producers of berries are deeply concerned with the potential difficulties in attracting seasonal workers to the harvest of berries,” the letter read.

“The Berry Union is asking to provide it with information about decisions of the Agriculture Ministry on the special organizational conditions of entry of the seasonal workers employed by the Russian agriculture industry, and about possible introduction of any special measures that the producers of berries will be able to apply to these workers.”

The producers of berries need about 20 people per hectare to harvest berries, and the largest berry producers have to attract hundreds of people from the CIS states each year. It is impossible to attract Russians because the plantations are in remote locations, while mobility of Russians is traditionally very low. Thus, many large producers may be unable to harvest berries in 2020.

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